Clothes-lifter.



0. OJALA.

CLOTHES LIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27. 1914.

1,147,425, v V Patented July 20, 1915.

SIM unto 0% Qjaia wi/lmzmo snares ra'rnrrr orrrcn- CLOTHES-LIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented July 20, 1915;

Application filed .Tune 27, 1914. Serial Np. 847,664.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, O'r'ro OJALA, citizen of the United States, residing at Virginia,

in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Lifters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clothes lifters and has as its principal object to provide a device of this character so constructed that water from the clothes will be prevented from running down the handle of the tool and coming in contact with the hands, thus protecting the user when lifting the clothes from hot water.

The invention has as a further object to provide a device of thischaracter which will be simple in construction wherein the parts thereof may be readily assembled or disconnected, and wherein the means employed for preventing the water from the clothes from following the handle will be held firmly in position thereon.

The invention trated in the accompanying drawings, and

then specifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and forma part of this application. I

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure '1 is a perspective view of my improved clothes lifter, Fig. 2 is a similar view partly broken away showing the parts detached but in proper relative position, Fig. 3 is a sectional view, partly broken away and particularly illustrating the arrangement of the shield upon the handle.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

\Vhile my improved device may be used for other purposes, still, the construction is particularly designed to provide a convenient and handy implement for lifting clothes from boiling water and with this end in view, I have provided an arrangement whereby the hot water from the clothes will has as a still further object to provide a clothes lifter wherein the water shield will be interposed between the work-' be prevented from following the working elementof the device to thence run down the handle thereof and come in contact with the hands of the user.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the handle of the tool, which is preferably formed of wood and which may be of any desired length or size. As illustrated, the handle 10 is also preferably circular and is bored at one extremity to receive the working element 11. The working element or tine 11 is preferably formed. from a length of suitable metallic rod and includes a shank 12 which is screw. threaded adjacent its outer extremity, as shown at 13 to engage within the bore of the handle 10. At its outer extremity, the working element or tine is longitudinally bowed as at 14, this constructionfacilitating the engagement of the clothes by the tool.

Formed on the shank 12 intermediate the ends thereof and inwardly spaced from the screw threads 13 is an encircling shoulder or stop 15, the said stop, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, being disposed to seat within the shield 16 which is arranged upon the adjacent extremity of the ,handle 1().

The shield 16 is preferably cup-shaped, as

shown, being concavo-convex and 1sarranged upon the handle 10, with the concave face thereof disposed toward the free extremity of theworking element 11. The

shield 16 is preferably formed of suitable metal, but may, of course, be constructed of any suitable material, and the wall thereof is centrally apertured, as shown at 17, to receive the shank 12 of the working element or tine.

Inter-posed between the adjacent extremity of the handle 10 and the shield 16 is a yieldable gasket 18 which is preferably formed of rubber or other fibrous material being screwed into the handle to cause the shoulder 15 to engage firmly against the inner face of the Wall of the shield to force said shield into binding contact with the gasket, the gasket forming a resilient seat for the shield. At this point, particular attention is directed to the fact that when the shank 12 of the working element is thus screwed into the handle 10 to cause the shoulder 15 to engage the shield, that the outer convex wall of the shield will so engagev the: yieldable gasket 18 as to cause the adjacent face of said gasket to confor m to the curvature of said wall of the shield, and since said Wall inclines away from the shank 12 of the working element toward theouter extremity of the gasket, the shield willbear into the gasket at its center so that the thickness of the gasket between the adjacent extremity of the handle 10 and the shield will be greater adjacent the peripherial margin thereof than at the center, the said relatively thickened portion of the gasket, under such circumstances, providing an efl'ectual yielding abutment for the shield.

It will be observed that the gasket will form a tight joint around the shank 12 of the working element and between the shield and the handle to'efi'ectuallv prevent any water from following the shank of the u' orking element through the aperture formed in the shield and through which the shank of the working element extends and thus, water from the clothes carried by the workingelemcnt will be prevented from following the working element to run down the handle and thus come in contact with the hands of the user. It will also be seen that the shield 16 will be resiliently supported.

- objects, will be reduced toa minimum,

lit will thus be'seen that l provide a very simple and efiicient tool for the purpose set forth and that the several parts thereof may be readily assembled or disconnected, as desired. In this connection, it will be noted that the outer face of the shoulder 15 is curved to conform to the curvature of the inner concave face of the shield 16 so as to firmly bear thereagainst, when the parts of the device are assembled.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A clothes lifter including a handle, a tine having a shank threaded within the handle, a concavo-convex shield, and a shoulder of the same diameter as the handle formed on the tine and adapted to bear against the concave face of the shield for clamping the shield in position on the handle when the parts are assembled, the shoulder being disposed entirely within the concave portion of the shield.

2. A clothes lifter including a handle having a fiat terminal face, a tine having one end thereof bowed laterally and its other end provided with a threaded shank piercing the flat face of the handle, a coin cave-convex shield fitted on the shank, a gasket interposed between the convex face of the shield and the flat terminal face of the handle, and a shoulder of the same diameter as the handle formed on the tine and provided with a convex face adapted to bear against the concave face of the shield for clamping the shield in engagementv with the gasket and the latter in contact with the flat face of the handle when the parts are assembled, the shoulder being disposed entirely within the concave portionof the shield.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- OTTO ()JALA. [1,. s1 Witnesses:

Anna, Emerson, Jr,-

Jonn Karena. 

